The chip deal between the Caldari State and the Khanid Kingdom has sparked a fierce debate about slavery in the modern world and thrust the slaves within the Kingdom unexpectedly into the limelight. Advocates for implanting slaves with the revolutionary chip have emphasized that the slaves become happier and more productive as a result of being implanted. While critics of this procedure have not been able to thwart this argument they still claim that the implanting is inhumane and barbaric. But what does the common slave within the Kingdom think? Various news agencies have entered the Kingdom to find out just that. And the replies are startling: the vast majority of the implanted slaves interviewed assure reporters that they are happy with their lot in life, with the way they’re treated and the work they do. Though obviously severely delusional, for instance insisting they have a family that is ‘on a vacation at the moment’ and that they’re next in line for a lucrative promotion that is ‘just around the corner’, they are on the whole content and calm. The fact that they’re ‘re-programmed’, wiping the slate clean, every day means they never question why their families never return from the vacation, etc. It also invites absurd situations, such as witnessed by Anya Dechant, reporter for the Scope, as the slaves start each morning greeting each other like they’re meeting for the first time. Dechant explains: ‘It’s eerie watching their behavior, because it seems so natural and uninhibited. They laugh and jest with each other, work diligently and talk about their families and future like any other free people. You only notice it’s artificial when you hear the same jokes, the same discussions the next day and the next day. I don’t know, on one hand I pity them for this, but I can’t help but envy them a little bit, the joy and camaraderie is like I’ve never seen anywhere else.’
What is even more startling is that slaves within the Kingdom are voluntarily lining up to be implanted. Dechant talked to Rufur Argotok, a fifth generation Minmatar slave, on why he wanted to be implanted: ‘Many of my friends have already been implanted and I’ve seen how happy and content they are. Sure, I know what I’m getting into, but I’d much rather be duped into thinking I’m free than live in misery where dying young is the best you can hope for. I’m sick and tired of hearing the whine of sofa-socialists in the Federation and the Republic about ethics and human rights. These people have no idea what’s really going on down here, sitting in their Ivory Towers blind to anything else but their own social superiority. They’re just as bad as religious fanatics, automatically assuming that their way is the right way, they’re ignorance and prejudice makes me sick!’ Argotok’s feelings are shared by many of his fellow slaves, feelings that critics of slavery are not making any worthwhile gestures or suggestions on how to better the lot of slaves and that the Transcranial Microcontrollers, while not an ideal solution, is far better than any alternatives.